In a massive interview with Bild, former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeneß touched on a number of topics regarding transfers, fees, personnel, and the modern game. When asked about the topic of agents, he noted how Luis Díaz had an agent who worked hard to orchestrate his move from Liverpool FC. Hoeneß calls him one of the good ones.
This comment was juxtaposed against a question where Dayot Upamecano and his recent contract saga came up. In that situation, Hoeneß was incensed by the agent’s demands.
Matthias Sammer even demanded that agents be abolished altogether. He claimed that some of these people demand three times the salary of the sporting director sitting across from them…
Hoeneß: “Do you know what’s so disastrous about this? In Upamecano’s case, the agents either wanted to drive up the price for us or push him to another club, and as a thank you, they want us to pay them a signing fee. That’s a contradiction in terms that we shouldn’t accept any longer.”
Are there any counterexamples (of good agents)?
Hoeneß: “Yes. Luis Díaz’s agent, for example, fought hard to bring him from Liverpool, which was very difficult. He invested everything for his client and still always spoke fairly with Liverpool. We’re happy to pay a man like that.”
Ironically, the two simply represent a role reversal on the part of Bayern Munich. In the case of Díaz, he was trying to negotiate a big raise with Liverpool and eventually left because a deal could not be struck. In the case of Upamecano, it was practically the same situation, except Bayern buckled under the pressure and gave into Upa’s demands.
If Upa’s agent had taken him to either PSG or Real Madrid, you could be sure that their executives would be full of praise for the move. Oh well, no one ever accused Hoeneß of being an even handed individual. It’s just funny how these things look with a different perspective.
